The Past Is Always There
by Listener15
Summary: Sometimes the past can lays dorment. Sometimes the past affects your everyday. And sometimes, your past can change your future. [Femslash] Pairing: CatherineSara [Currently Incomplete]
1. Prolog

  
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. I wish they did so we could see some of these fics as actual eps. I'm a poor (really poor) college student. I have some candy, text books, and pocket lint, that's all you get if you sue. This is my first CSI fic any constructive criticisms will be greatly appreciated.   
Author's Notes: I am totally ignoring, destroying, and basically annihilating the cannon of Sara's past. Catherine has not been promoted. I am also not a doctor or know anything about drugs so sorry if I totally make something up that couldn't possibly happen. 

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Prolog 

There was a muffled pop as the stitches that attached Catherine's sleeve to her shirt finally gave way. A few more tugs and the sleeve fell down her arm. Using her other hand she gave the same treatment to her other sleeve. The plastic glass with little ducks on the side was on the floor next to her and only half empty so she didn't need to get up off the new looking, and hopefully clean, mattress. Catherine squeezed the excess water from both pieces blue cloth, thankful that she had chosen to wear a long sleeved shirt...this morning? Or was it yesterday morning? She didn't know and at that second didn't really care. Her concern was focused on the woman whose head was on her lap. 

"Oh honey why did you..." Catherine's voice trailed off. A faint stinging sensation pricked at her eyes signaling the tears she had been trying to keep at bay since the beginning. "Later." She whipped her cheek against her shoulder. "Take care of Sara now." 

The blonde took a deep breath, held it, and released it slowly, calming her understandably rattled nerves. Carefully, she used one of the folded wet sleeves to clean the large scrape that took up half of Sara's left cheek. Catherine winced at every twitch the unconscious woman made, but soon the scrape was bright red and clean of dirt. A gentle tug towards her and Sara's face was now turned to Catherine's stomach. She tenderly cleaned the shallow gash on her right cheek and the dried blood that had reached down to her throat. The bruise was changing colour to a dark purple before her eyes. The skin beneath her fingers felt warm so she placed a cool hand on Sara's forehead. 

"Dammit!" Catherine cursed even though she expected Sara's temperature to rise. She placed the other wet folded sleeve on the brunette's forehead. 

A big sigh and Catherine looked around the basement. The mattress they were on sat right on the floor, the tight woven and surprisingly warm blanket folded on Catherine's other side. The linoleum floor was black, the walls were a dirty brown (darker in some places making Catherine cringe), a ground level shoe box sized window had long ago been covered over with a translucent brown paper that had been scraped off in the shape of an hour glass in one corner letting a stream of unfiltered light in, and the wall next to them had an old porcelain sink that dripped constantly. The room was large, the queen sized mattress taking up just a third of the length of the wall. 

Sara began to shake. Strong arms tightened around the brunette and Catherine rocked her while murmuring nonsense comfort words. 

"It's all right honey...I'm right here...Everything will be all right..." 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:   
"The first thing I do in the morning is to make my bed and while I am making up my bed I am making up my mind as to what kind of a day I am going to have." -Robert Frost (1874-1963) 

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One Month Earlier. 

Sara walked into the quiet break room before the start of shift with a noticeable bounce in her step. For the first time in many months she made herself stay home for the weekend instead of working overtime and now was feeling completely rested, finally getting rid of that edge of tiredness that usually lurked at the edges of her mind. She spent the weekend unpacking the last of the moving boxes she had stored in a closet three years ago. The decision to unpack these last few boxes, which contained her most treasured personal items, was the last step in deciding to settle down here in Las Vegas. Originally, her plans when coming to Vegas, she was going to stay two or three years then move on to Miami where her Grandparents lived. It was the prospect of working for Gil Grissom that propelled her to go to Las Vegas and had been up front with him about her plans. Plans that he had brought up on Friday. 

Enticing smells of coffee directed her over to pour herself a mug of the stuff she lived off of.

"Hi Sara." 

The brunette grinned over her shoulder. "Hey Catherine, want some coffee?" Even the presence of Catherine Willows, who she had an unspoken truce with at the moment, couldn't put a damper her spirits, besides once assignments where handed out, she didn't have to see her the rest of the night. _Okay, so I do provoke her at times._

Catherine at stopped at the doorway, surprised at the rare grin and felt one tugging at her own lips. "Sure. Black, one Sweet'N'Low." Sipping the coffee handed to her, the blonde walked over to the couch and sat down while Sara, sipping her own coffee, sat at the round table with various magazines on it. _Someone's in a good mood, I wonder why._ She took another sip. "So, how was your weekend?" 

It was Sara's turn to be surprised. She drank some coffee to cover her reaction. Usually, if the two women were there early the same time, the room would remain silent until Nick or Warrick showed up. _Oh what the hell, I better start might as well be social. What's the worst she can do? Get pissed at me, again?_ "Umm...it was nice. Got things done around the apartment, just relaxed, and even managed to stay away from work." A small grin graced her lips making Catherine chuckle. "What about you?" Now Sara turned her body so that she was facing the couch. 

"Not too bad. Lindsey had a soccer game Saturday, and she had a play date Sunday." Catherine was smiling like she always did when talking about her daughter, her pride and joy. 

"The Vegas Lightning right? How did they do?" 

"They played really well, but lost in the last five minutes of the game. That's okay though, they all had fun and it was only their first game." 

"Aw man, they lost?" Nick looked bummed as he walked over to the coffee maker. "Hey Sara." He grinned as he stirred two packets of sugar into his cup. _Catherine and Sara talking and neither is about to stomp out of the room. That's a first._ "Where's Gris?" 

Just then Grissom walked in with two pink slips of paper, and Warrick right behind him. "Okay everyone, I want an update on your cases." 

"Cath and I just have to finish up paperwork on the Riley case." Warrick answered first leaning against the doorway. "It turned out he wasn't missing, he had left his girlfriend and decided not to tell her. Brass was notified when a man fitting Riley's description checked in a hotel with a redhead named Cindy. Case solved." 

"Okay. Nick and Sara." 

"Finished." 

Sara explained as Nick went back to drinking his mandatory first cup of coffee. "The kid confessed to stealing the car as soon as Brass brought him in for questioning." She shook her head. "Apparently, stealing a car was part of the initiation to a frat house. The school is now investigating the frats. Paperwork's all done." 

"Good. Nick, Warrick, house arson. Catherine, Sara, multiple DBs at the Flowering Cactus Apartments." Grissom handed the pink slips out. "Sara, can I talk to you for a minute?" 

"Sure." 

"I'll go get the kits." Catherine received a grin from the other woman as she walked out. _Two smiles already, and day has hardly begun? Lucky me._

Last night Nancy had to practically beat her over the head with comments she had made over the year to get Catherine to open up and admit she was attracted to Sara. Even then she admitted only a slight attraction as she started citing one thing after another about the annoying and frustrating things the brunette did. It didn't help, her sister had the biggest grin on her face that made her trail off. _I did NOT sound like Nancy._ But she was right. Catherine did sound like her sister when she had met her husband Jack. 

With kits in hand she walked towards the exit. She was almost to the break room when she heard Gil's voice. 

"Well, Miami said they'd be glad to have you. Horatio sent over all the papers and information to transfer there, the phone number is in there too." 

"Thanks Grissom. I'll call him in the morning about it." 

_Sara's leaving?_ Suddenly the day didn't seem nice. 

The subject of her thoughts walked out of the break room, a business envelope in her hands. "Hey Cath, ready to go?" 

"Yeah." She handed Sara her kit and the two women headed out the door. 


End file.
